Shelter 421
by rainbowcandy
Summary: How is Osaka to Kayuki? She will know it after coming to Shelter 421, a bus stop where it all begins. ZaizenxOC
1. Sunday Morning

**Shelter 421 is a made up place, of course. I myself am not sure that such a thing really exists /grins  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PoT**

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**Chapter 1:**

**Sunday Morning**

There were many ways to describe a good day. The sun was smiling widely upon the clear azure sky, the birds were chirping melodiously, the summer breeze was swaying the dandelions puff and cooling off people's mood.

Yet, that perfect picture didn't warrant the wellness of the whole day.

"Honey, can you please move the boxes?" was the words my mother yelled for the gazillion times. See? Even if the birds sang I Feel Good, my day would not go smooth as nature conjured me to expect.

"A sec." and for the gazillion times I replied with the same answer. She was a meter away from me—couldn't she see that I was unpacking another box?

"Pretty please," my mom let out a why-can-I-give-birth-of-a-stubborn-girl sigh. "I am polite enough to ask, Kayuki. Or…" I heard a hint of threat in her voice. "Ah, it looks interesting. Kayuki's property."

"Aaaa! Don't ever touch it!" I whirled around with a shriek. But I was late. "Ah, this stuff looks good. A diary! And hey, you own this?"

"Put it back, mom! How embarrassing, that's my panties!" thank God she didn't flip my old diary. My day would be in total disaster if she did so. "Okay! I move these. Is that fine?"

"Thank you, sweetheart." She smiled sweetly but sickly. Her straight, red-dyed hair was loosened up from yellow scrunch. "Then you can put your stuff in your new room. I wanna take a rest. I wonder we still have lemonades…" a leisurely walk passed by me.

_And I wonder how my day can be worse,_ I said inwardly. I admitted that Osaka is a beautiful city. It undoubtedly had very nice scenery, had world famous delicious foods, and kind of rare city in the world that successfully developed modernity especially in technology sector but still stick on traditional values.

I, Matsuyama Kayuki, had been living Tokyo since birth, and it never crossed my mind to move to other city. It was my parents' divorce that triggered the change of my current location on facebook. My mom, Matsuyama Sakura, got my custody, so unfortunately I had to follow her plans. I didn't know exactly why she decided to leave Tokyo, I mean, Tokyo was her life and mine too, how could she? I had best friend there (well, although just one), and a handsome senpai crush, and a superb cool science club (we often won many competitions, the school should have thanked us for spreading its good reputation). Then I jumped to conclusion that—maybe—she wanted to bury her memories with my dad since my dad had been remarried with someone else and still lived his busy life in that busy town. Again, I had to side my ego for her.

Today was the first day we stepped our Tokyo's feet on Osaka ground. Speaking of which, we often made people got flustered due to our different personality. 'Like Mother Like Daughter' didn't exist in our dictionary. I guessed it was because my dad side dominantly built my DNA. Well, I had to be grateful for having them, though they were separated at the last. I couldn't imagine what the world was going to be if the big part of me was a copy of my mom's genes.

Mom was a perfect planner. She had prepared all things from the essentials like transportation and residence here, to the smallest details like home decoration and foods for our new neighbors. We just needed to arrange our belongings to the right place, and I swore it was the most tiring part of moving. That might be the reason why I disliked to wave goodbye to my old home. I didn't worry about what my school would be like, or was the internet connection good there or what. My first thought about moving was how I could manage to unpack the stuffs in the new house.

After moving the boxes, I brought my box (yes, with the 'Kayuki's property' on it, the one that my mom had opened and messed the contents) to the upstairs. My bedroom in Tokyo was on first floor, so I requested to have one on second floor and my mom nicely gave me.

I heard footsteps up the stairs, and wondered if my mom was too nice after feeling guilty to help me. No, I wouldn't let her touch my stuffs again, and fortunately I was almost done with it.

"I think it's nice to put it here." To my surprise, she hung an abstract painting she had bought at an art expo on the wall, beside my bedroom's door. "Right, Kayuki? I am positive you will gain many experiences and fun here. Don't you wanna have a sexy Kansai-accented boyfriend?" she winked meaningfully at me.

"Mom, I am fourteen. I want to have a boyfriend in my eighteen and it is four years later."

"Oh!" she shouted dramatically, hand flying on her forehead. "What kind of teenager are you?" she rolled her eyes. "Don't waste your precious youth time! It's once in a lifetime! Ah, I know." Her slender, manicured fingers snapped.

Well, bad feeling.

"You have to go with me in delivering desserts for neighbors. Who knows one of them have gorgeous son." Her emerald eyes pierced in a light of happiness. "Okay? Let's go!"

She didn't even say 'shall we?'.

* * *

The 5th entrance door of two-story building had been closed. The occupants were an old lady and her husband, their son, daughter-in-law and grandchild. No gorgeous Osaka-accented or whoever my mother had wished he was someone else's son of our neighbor.

"That's for today," I remarked. "Let's go home. I'm starving." I tucked my hair behind ear. "You don't want to search that kind of guy you explained to me, do you?"

She sighed. "I had a feeling that she has a son, not a married son." Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. "I forgot unpack the kitchen needs! Ah, I'm too lazy to cook now—you buy the fast foods near the bus stop, okay?" she unzipped her purse then handed me some money. "I want cheeseburger."

"Okay…" I didn't have good excuse to refuse; she was more tired than me—she prepared our moving after all. Though, being at home seemed boring. I thought I had to explore Osaka a bit.

By the time my mom went home (and shouted, 'and milkshake!'), I walked to the opposite direction. We had passed this street before the truck downed the furniture and boxes and all. We saw a fast food stall on the right side of a bus stop.

The bus stop was what made me remember the fast food stall. Not only because of the huge sign; it was different from other bus stops I had seen by my eyes or on TV. It had a sign hanging on its canopy, read Shelter 421.

I didn't know it was intentional or not, what I knew was the bus stops I'd seen didn't have such a code or number, as if it was built numerically. It really caught my eyes. Shelter 421. Somehow reminded me of dorama, and the shelter became the background of a romantic scene. Best if it was raining.

Still, I couldn't keep my eyes off it when I was waiting for my orders and somehow had an urge to go there. It was like a big magnet, it drew me towards it.

Grabbing a paper bag of burgers and vanilla milkshakes, my legs led me to Shelter 421, eyes stared at the sign then I planted myself on its bench.

It felt… ordinary. Nothing magical happened.

So why was I here? I didn't wait for a bus. My stomach got ache and needed to be fill by some carbohydrate and protein. I must have been home. My mom waited anyways.

I started to get up, and somehow my heart started to race.

This time I should have agreed with my mom. Not the boyfriend part, but that the Osaka guys are sexy.

No, not sexy. Drop dead gorgeous.

He was sitting right after I was half-standing. His multi-pierced ears plugged by earphone, his black hair coolly spiky, his foot tapped along the music. Vaguely I heard distortion of electric guitar from his earphone.

I sat back.

Thank you, my magical intuition! I might care less about boyfriend, but after all, I was a normal girl. He mouthed the lyrics, apparently, while a hand cupped his chin.

Oh my goodness! I almost swooned. The sun seemed brighter, the breeze seemed cooler… a good day was back! Realizing the amount of time that had flew away, my mind imagined my mom's anger. Hhh. Time to end staring at my today's mood maker.

Wait. I was staring at him? That wasn't impossible then, if suddenly he tilted his head to me and glared confusingly at me. Oh, and said, "What are you looking at?"

Good.

"Nothing." Was my reply, trying to sound it icily. One of my special abilities: being calm in the exterior and remaining plain-faced while sweating with the heart throbbed erratically. If I were mom, I would have run home and never have gone there anymore. Again, I thanked my dad for this.

"I'm not 'nothing'," he responded, somewhat cynically. Well. I thought I had had him wrong. "Just ask me directly." Well.

"As if," I hissed. What a confidence, this guy! He might be hunkalicious but it didn't mean he could go out with any girls in the universe!

"Hey, I'm kidding." He grinned a little, and to be honest, my ice wall was melting upon seeing his smile. He continued, "For a girl, you're scary enough." My ice wall was rebuilt.

"So what?"

"Newcomer?" he asked, instead of replying my two syllables. "You look like from Tokyo."

"Nice guess." I answered. Oh, where are my ice shields? I couldn't help but smile back. "My new house is after the second bend_._"

His dark eyes widened. "What a coincidence. Mine too."

I had to explain about this. Houses after the second bendwere seven. Six occupied, one abandoned. Before the residences was a large field and public park. I had visited five houses, and if he was honest, it meant I had visited his. But I didn't see him.

"I live with my parents and my brother's family. He had married."

My question had been answered then. The 5th house!

"I just came to your house with my mom." My mom's gene was acting, controlling me from inside so now my voice sounded cheery. "Your mother welcomed us."

He stood up, then slightly bowed. "Zaizen Hikaru. Yoroshiku."

"Matsuyama Kayuki." my smile stretched. "Yoroshiku."

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**A/N**

**I have posted it but it has gone, so I re-posted it. Please read and review! :D Thank you :)  
**


	2. Let's Get It Started

**Quick update, huh? :D**

**Disclaimer: Own the OCs and the plot only.**

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**Chapter 2:**

**Let's Get It Started**

"Remember, Kayuki. Your school is Shitenhouji Chuu. It is quite popular because of its tennis club—that's what I heard from Mrs. Zaizen, tsk. Maybe because of her son—so if you get lost, just ask passers-by, Osakans are nice anyway. Then your class is 2-7, your bento is in bag already, also your books, and oh! I put extra money in your pencil case in case you run out of money or need to buy school needs, remember! Just for school needs, not else."

"Mom," I said after sighing. "A, the possibility of getting lost is low because I'll go to school with Zaizen, and he has gone there for two years. B, the teacher will escort me to my classroom. C, I certainly know where my books and bento are." Her possessive, too much anxiety traits didn't change at all, even though we had left for Osaka. Curse of the only child. "D, thanks for the extra money."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sound like your _handsome senpai…_ what's his name? Oh, Inui Sadaharu."

She read my diary! "Sh—mom!" she was lucky that she was my own mom, who had brought me in her tummy for nine months. If not, I should have cut her neck in the most violent manner. "Itte ikimasu."

"Wait, Kayuki!" I stomped off, leaving her behind. I felt my cheeks heated. That was totally unacceptable. How dare she—

"Yo, Matsuyama." Zaizen popped out of his house. "Morning."

So, yesterday Zaizen and I met and conversed about many things at Shelter 421, and stopped when his bus arrived. At home, I found my mom's lips frowned, her eyes blazing mine in rage. She pointed to the clock, the other hand on stomach. I responded with a sheepish smile. After eating the burger ravenously_,_ I told her what had happened (with a little hyperbole about Zaizen, of course) and her eyes lit up. What I knew before going to my bedroom was my mom called Zaizen's mom. That was it.

"Morning." I greeted back.

We walked in silence. I wanted us to behave like we did yesterday. He was quite funny and seemed never out of subjects, he was so 'now', so 'teen', he was up-to-date in everything. He was brilliant—unlike professor or Einstein—he was brilliantly creative. Yeah, brilliantly creative.

So creative that there was only silence between us.

We had reached Shelter 421, and—sigh—sat in silence. How boring.

I was an introvert. Just pictured an image of a nerd girl, it was me. Except that this nerd girl had mom who changed the monotonous braids with shaggy haircut, served veggies and fruits so her daughter didn't have to wear those geek big glasses, and again, donated some of her _DNA _of extrovertdemeanor.

But I felt he was different. He baited me into being talkative, something that only few people could do to me. Not that meant I had fallen for him on the first sight. I was peculiar and I had no idea about it. Yes, I didn't want to have a boyfriend in my junior high school period, because I thought it wouldn't last forever like a fairy tale, the boys in my age were mostly childish. But I had a crush when I used to go to Seishun Gakuen, my school in Tokyo. Peculiar, it was.

"Oi," Zaizen's voice (finally!) broke. "I sit here."

Wait. What?

"This is my seat. You sit there."

I gazed at him quizzically. "Well, it doesn't make any differences, does it? Just sit wherever." Do you think your dad owns this shelter? (Or he really did?)

Why did he become so annoying? A second ago I praised him, now he acted as if he was the ruler of the world. See? Childish. Or this Zaizen I Went to School With was Zaizen I Met Yesterday's twin?

Sorry, Zaizen. But your impressive first impression was torn to infinite pieces due to your bad mouth.

The bus stopped. We crossed the threshold, looking for a vacant seat. Since he walked before me, plus his tall figure, my eyesight was blocked. The bus was rather jam-packed, but not that crowd. I believed there were 2-3 seat left for us.

There was one seat left for us, and seemingly Zaizen had seen it. Alright. First, my mom twittered like no end this morning aaaaand annoyingly mentioned my crush. Second, my new neighbor whom I thought was friendly argued with me about the seat I took at bus stop. Third, he seemed to take his revenge.

Zaizen extended his hand in the direction of the empty seat, signing me to sit.

I sat uncomfortably, stealing glances to him while he stood beside me, hand clutching the handrail. His face expressed neutral look, as if the argue at Shelter 421 never to be happened.

Maybe he was as peculiar as me.

* * *

We parted at the temple-like school gate. Needless to say, I was befuddled. He should be my escort, but he joined his friends—he said there was urgency or what. So, I relied on my intuition to find receptionist. It took fifteen minutes for me to finally reach the classroom.

"Hajimemashite, Matsuyama Kayuki desu. Doozo yoroshiku." I bowed then picked my seat. Since it was my first time I did such an intro in front of the class, I looked rather timid and bewildered. I was anxious if they didn't welcome me, but in fact they were very friendly. They asked me a lot about Tokyo and I gave them good opinions about Osaka.

"Enough for the chit-chat." The teacher with frameless glasses ordered. "Now, I'm going to check the absences…" I heard several names were called. "…hmmm, Zaizen Hikaru?"

The door was opened.

"Present." A certain punk came, rising hand then swaying his feet to his seat. I just noticed that he was wearing two big green handbands on his left arm, catching everyone's eyes. How could I not see it before this? And how could I not have a thought that he might be my classmate? The teacher shook her head. "Mind to explain why are you coming this late?"

"Practice, sensei." He answered, eyes looking at sakura tree as if it was the one who asked him, not the teacher. "We have to prepare for National Competition, ah, hey Matsuyama." He turned his attention to me, waving with a smirk.

"Eh, hey," Confuse stares laid on me, asking for explanation. But I had no chance because he hastily added, fingers flicking as if he had a great idea after Pocky's invention. "Sensei, I suppose Matsuyama is blind about this school, and I think I can be her guide for today, so…" he rushed towards me and gripped my hand forcefully. I didn't think the teacher had time to warn him because in a few seconds I found myself in a corridor with hand entangled.

I released his grip.

"If you want to be my guide, do it fifteen minutes ago." I rebuked.

"You wanna back to the class? Fine." the Annoying Guy returned.

"Yes. With you." I glared back.

"No. You alone."

"No."

"Go with me or back to your seat listening to Literature's lecture, alone. You decide."

I personally didn't hate Literature, but sometimes it was boring. This guy, despite his smart mouth and cocky attitude, was interesting. Plus, today was my first day in school.

"Option one."

"I save you from boredom, you know." He pocketed his hands, mumbling. "I hate Literature."

"So, where is our first destination…" I saw him from the corner of eyes. "…my guide?"

He smirked. "This way."

* * *

Again, a huge temple gate welcomed me. I wonder what was on the founder of Shitenhouji's mind when this was built in 1912, Showa Year 4 (I read this when I was searching for receptionist). But this was Osaka, after all.

"Welcome to the tennis courts." He spoke in high pride.

"What's so special?" I muttered under my breath. Thank god it didn't reach his ears. "Shitenhouji Tennis Club is the strongest team from Kansai. We are dream team of every schools in Japan." He rambled nonstop. "The members are talented, particularly the regulars. Our buchou, Shiraishi-senpai, is a Tennis Bible. Nobody can win over his perfect tennis. My doubles partner, Oshitari-senpai, is Naniwa Speed Star, the fastest runner I've ever known. And I, Zaizen Hikaru, am well-known as Naniwa Tensai. I play in prodigy way, and if it combines with my senpai's speed, we're unattainable. Now we are rivaling other schools in Nationals. I'm sure we'll make it."

I caught Bible, Speed, and comment about himself. And thingamajig the Nationals. "Cool."

"Cool? It's Ultra Cool!" he exclaimed. "The best club in Shitenhouji Chuu."

"You know what? You sound as boring as Literature class." Silently I wished I was in classroom, daydreaming.

I thought he would get irate, then vomited curses words or what. His face surprisingly remained calm and collected. "This is appetizer. Next, we'll have main course." He let out a playful smirk, leading me entered the school's building.

* * *

"Ummm…" we were half way up the stairs. "Do you not afraid of detention?"

He stopped suddenly, and as he walked before me, it startled me resulting in almost fell backwards if only my hand wasn't quick enough to grip the nearest support, the stair handrail.

"Eh, gomen ne." he helped me getting up. "What did you say? Detention. Hmm. That's why we slink in order to avoid teachers catching sight of us, huh?" his teeth shined upon reflecting the sunshine. "C'mon, hurry up!"

Half-running and sometimes acting like culprits escaping jail, we snickered along our way. Then Zaizen pushed a door open and proceeded to walk in. I tailed after him.

"Scream as loud as you can here. This is my way to get out of detention. They can't hear us."

"Audiovisual room." I spelled the sign. "Nice idea. How do you spend your time here? Sleeping?"

He took an electric guitar, positioning his hand on it. "Creep? Mr Brightside? Champagne Supernova?"

Those titles were foreign to me. "Hmm… can you play Dear God?"

"Avenged Sevenfold, huh?" he paused, seemingly contemplating. Then he nodded. "I'm not into them much, but I can recall the keys, yeah." He stared at me. "It's a surprise that a girl like you have interest in such genre of music."

The room was slightly dark—only two neon lamps lightening it. I wished the darkness could hide flush that crept over my cheeks. "Yeah, mmm…" I shrugged. "That song is the mellowest from them, I think."

"I like A Little Piece of Heaven." He said. "Well, my role models are British indie bands, but it doesn't mean I don't accept the other. By the way, what kind of music do you like, Matsuyama?"

"Pop. It's everlasting." I grinned. "And a little R&B. I also listen to rock music."

"Oh, mainstream" he commented. "It's okay. Now, live from A/V room of Shitenhouji Chuu, an awesome guitar play by Zaizen Hikaru. A request from Matsuyama Kayuki, Dear God of Avenged Sevenfold."

We were supposed to skip a class. In fact, we spent 120 minutes outside, chatting and laughing and singing. It was exhilarating fun. I never felt this enjoy in school, honestly. I used to feel like a robot every day, doing the same things over and over again. It was true that we needed some change. Break the rule. Be a rebel. Although I disliked the statement 'Rules are made to be broken'.

If only I hadn't met him. I'd like to say that he came to my life in time, he spiced up my day when I immensely needed someone to do it. I got a feeling that this was going to be a good start for me to live in Osaka, and school at Shitenhouji Chuu. I hoped so.

I didn't see this coming. Yes, I was surprised that my first day in school would be skipping class, but that wasn't what I mean. I didn't see that there was a sudden thud_,_ jerking our shoulders. A middle-aged man was blocking the entrance.

"You two, go to my office, NOW."

We exchanged worried gazes, sweat dropping. Good start, eh? We would see tomorrow.

* * *

**Creep – Radiohead**

**Mr Brightside – The Killers (I like this one)**

**Champagne Supernova – Oasis**

**It is not necessary to look for these songs, but I do recommend them :)**

**(Also for Dear God, it is just awesome)**

**Sorry for the errors and possible OOCness /bows**

**Thanks for reading! Then, tell me what you think :D**


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